Tonga

Summary

Official Name: Kingdom of Tonga
Population: 106,800
General Remarks: 171 islands, 48 of them inhabited
Principal Languages: English, Tongan
Literacy Rate: 100% (2018 UNESCO)
International Conventions: CSICH (2012)
General References: Besnier 1992, Wurm and Hattori 1981
Language Counts: The number of established languages listed for Tonga is 4. Of these, 3 are living and 1 is extinct. Of the living languages, 2 are indigenous and 1 is non-indigenous. Furthermore, 2 are institutional and 1 is in trouble.

Languages

Chinese zho: Users: 2,000 in Tonga. Status: Unestablished.
English eng: Users: 32,430 in Tonga, all users. L1 users: 730 in Tonga (2019 World Factbook). L2 users: 31,700 (2019). Status: 1 (National). De facto national working language, considered co-official with Tongan [ton]. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
Niuafo’ou num: ’Eua and Tongatapu divisions; Ongo Niua division: Niuafo’ou island. Users: 1,000, all users. L1 users: 500 (2015 S. Tuilautala). L2 users: 500 (2015 S. Tuilautala). Ethnic population: 1,500 (2011 census). 523 on Niuafo’ou (2010), many elsewhere. Status: 6b (Threatened). Autonym: Niuafo’ou Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Central Pacific, East Fijian-Polynesian, Polynesian, Nuclear, Samoic-Outlier, East Uvean-Niuafo’ou
Niuatoputapu nkp: Ongo Niua: Niuatoputapu island. Users: No known L1 speakers. Last speaker shifted to Tongan [ton] sometime between the 18th and 19th centuries. Status: 10 (Extinct). Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Central Pacific, East Fijian-Polynesian, Polynesian, Nuclear, Samoic-Outlier, East Uvean-Niuafo’ou
Tongan ton: Users: 106,000 in Tonga (2017). Total users in all countries: 193,740. Status: 1 (National). De facto national language, considered co-official with English [eng]. Alternate Names: Tonga Autonym: Faka Tonga Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian, Oceanic, Central-Eastern Oceanic, Remote Oceanic, Central Pacific, East Fijian-Polynesian, Polynesian, Tongic

Languages by Status

1 (National)

English

[eng] 1 (National). De facto national working language, considered co-official with Tongan [ton]. 32,430 in Tonga, all users. L1 users: 730 in Tonga (2019 World Factbook). L2 users: 31,700 (2019).

Tongan

[ton] 1 (National). De facto national language, considered co-official with English [eng]. 106,000 in Tonga (2017). Total users in all countries: 193,740.

6b (Threatened)

Niuafo’ou

[num] 6b (Threatened). 1,000, all users. L1 users: 500 (2015 S. Tuilautala). L2 users: 500 (2015 S. Tuilautala). Ethnic population: 1,500 (2011 census). 523 on Niuafo’ou (2010), many elsewhere.

10 (Extinct)

Niuatoputapu

[nkp] 10 (Extinct). No known L1 speakers. Last speaker shifted to Tongan [ton] sometime between the 18th and 19th centuries.

Unestablished

Chinese

[zho] Unestablished. 2,000 in Tonga.

Maps

Tonga

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Tonga with respect to their level of language vitality. Each individual language that has an entry for Tonga is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of vitality. The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level.
The vitality levels and the color coding of the bars match the scheme used in the guide on How many languages are endangered? In this scheme, the levels and colors are as follows:
- Dark green = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Light green = Stable (EGIDS 5-6a) — The language is not being sustained by formal institutions, but It is still the norm in the home and community that all children learn and use the language.
- Red = Endangered (EGIDS 6b-9) — It is no longer the norm that children learn and use this language.
These three summary levels have been derived by grouping levels in the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), which is the more fine-grained scale that Ethnologue uses to assess the status of every language in terms of development versus endangerment; see the Language Status page for a description of the levels of that scale. See also the pages on Development and Endangerment for more discussion.
Language Status Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Tonga with respect to their status of language development versus language endangerment. Each individual language that has an entry for Tonga is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of development or endangerment as measured on the EGIDS scale. (See the pages on Development and Endangerment for a fuller explanation.) The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level. Consult the Status listings for Tonga in order to see the specific languages for each level.
The color coding of the bars matches the color scheme used in the summary profile graphs on the navigation maps for the site. In this scheme, the EGIDS levels are grouped as follows:
- Purple = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Blue = Developing (EGIDS 5) — The language is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by some though this is not yet widespread or sustainable.
- Green = Vigorous (EGIDS 6a) — The language is unstandardized and in vigorous use among all generations.
- Yellow = In trouble (EGIDS 6b-7) — Intergenerational transmission is in the process of being broken, but the child-bearing generation can still use the language so it is possible that revitalization efforts could restore transmission of the language in the home.
- Red = Dying (EGIDS 8a-9) — The only fluent users (if any) are older than child-bearing age, so it is too late to restore natural intergenerational transmission through the home; a mechanism outside the home would need to be developed.
- Black = Extinct (EGIDS 10) — The language has fallen completely out of use and no one retains a sense of ethnic identity associated with the language.

Tonga

Summary

Languages

Languages by Status

Maps

Tonga

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile

Language Status Profile

Contributions

Editorial Action